Webinar: Sex Differences in the Immune System and Their Relation to Chronic Pain

On October 3, Robert Sorge gave a talk on sex differences in the immune system and how these may contribute to chronic pain. After his talk, there was a question-and-answer period moderated by Annemieke Kavelaars.

There are known sex differences in the prevalence of chronic pain with females at greater risk for the majority of conditions. Whereas there are social and psychological processes that contribute to this disparity, biological mechanisms have received attention of late. Specifically, the discovery of major sex differences in the immune system and the critical role that immune cells play in chronic pain have highlighted the need for further investigation of this system. Preclinical data has shown that males utilize microglia, whereas females utilize T cells to mediate chronic pain—effectively as a function of hormonal state. Both systems are present in both males and females, and can perform similar functions. However, the biological sex difference in testosterone and estrogen levels appear to direct the immune system to one that favors one cell type over the other. Thus, for the development of immune-related pain treatments, it is imperative that sex differences be taken into consideration and that females be tested in preclinical investigations. This presentation will delve into the sex differences in the immune system observed in rodents and humans at rest and under chronic pain conditions.

Want some background reading? See the recent papers under Related Content in the right column of this page. And join the conversation about the webinar on Twitter. @PainResForum#PRFWebinar